Evening ReadThe Hidden Treasure/Pearl of Great Price/The Dragnet/Old & New Wisdom (Matthew 13:44-53)

Good evening. Great is His faithfulness.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

51 [a]Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, [b]Lord.”

52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every [c]scribe instructed [d]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” 53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.

The parable of the "TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD" is representing those who unexpectedly stumble onto Christ and His Church, they receive Him with great eagerness. The parable of the "PEARL OF GREAT PRICE represents all those who have been searching in their hearts ❤️ for Him and finally find Him and His Church. According to the Orthodox Study Bible the other pearls represent all the various teachings and philosophies of the entire world. These treasures are hidden in the fact that neither recognized nor valued by those immersed in worldliness. In both parables, receiving the treasures requires that everything else must be "SOLD", that is, a person must surrender all things in order to receive Christ.

THE DRAGNET- the image of the fishing net gathering the both the righteous and wicked together is exactly like the parable of the wheat and tares (vv. 36-43). This is also telling us that even those who are gathered into the Church is also subjected to judgement.

According to St. John Chrysostom see v. 52- Jesus does not exclude the OT, but rather praises the OT as a "TREASURE." All of us who speak and write of the "KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" will draw from unity of both the NEW AND OLD TESTAMENTS- both are holy, the NT being the fulfillment of the OT.

Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” ’

In Christ love ❤️ Jared W Campbell

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